Nearly 280 high school students took the stage Nov. 9 at Cal State Fullerton’s Meng Concert Hall, their eyes fixed on Chris Peterson, the choral director they lovingly dubbed the Music Whisperer.

Peterson, director of the university’s Titan Men’s Chorus and the CSUF Concert Choir, was hosting the sixth annual Festival of Men’s Voices for high school male choral singers from throughout Southern California.

Peterson’s experience as a university professor of choral music education has given him an idea of what vocal techniques are new to high school men’s choirs.

“The festival creates a very positive and supportive image of men singing, and it goes a long way to dispel any myths that it isn't cool for men to sing,” Peterson said.

As more students attending past festivals returned to their schools inspired to sing more, word got out, and Peterson’s event, which started with 30 students its first year, had almost 10 times as many this year.

“Some of the high school guys attending might only have several other men in their school chorus, so singing all day with over 250 men can be a life-changing experience for them. What it feels like and sounds like singing in such a large group can only be understood by experiencing it for oneself,” Peterson said.

Peterson taught the students three choral songs and also invited the Titan Men’s Chorus and The Newfangled Four, this year’s Barbershop Harmony Society’s international collegiate quartet champions, to the festival to perform their best songs and show the younger students how far music can take them.

“The event gives them the chance to hear what a collegiate choir sounds like and can inspire them to maintain a love for singing,” said Cal State Fullerton senior Benjamin Taitz.

Peterson and his Titan Men’s Chorus began the festival by dividing the 280 students into four Titan-led sectionals based their voice ranges – tenor one and two and baritone and bass two – so they could learn the songs surrounded by students with the same part.

“It is great to see the college students act in a mentorship role,” said Eric Graham, assistant director of the Titan Men’s Chorus. “When they teach the high school students skills for each part, they end up learning how to perform their own parts better.”

Graham, who is studying for his masters degree in choral conducting at Cal State Fullerton, is also the choral director at one of the festival’s participating schools, Marina High School in Huntington Beach.

“By participating in a large men’s choir like this, the high school kids can learn the techniques used in a four-part men’s choir, skills they might otherwise not learn in smaller high school choirs,” Graham said.

During the sectionals, with fellow bass singers surrounding him, Marco Torres of Orange High School, learned how to best adjust his tone to fit with the other vocalists.

“The skill is not sounding too loud. You want your voice to blend right into the all-male sound,” Torres said.

Torres, bass singer Andrew Mandel and tenor two vocalists Braulio Plascencia and Jesse Ramirez learned much as newcomers to the choral group this year.

“I’ve learned how much we really have to listen to each other and base our sound off of other people,” Mandel said.

Tenor two Rodrigo Castillo and bass Torres paired up with two other friends from Orange High School’s chamber choir to create their own barbershop quartet.

“We wanted to do something different from the mainstream vocalists, and we thought starting a barbershop quartet would give us something new to work with,” Castillo said.

When the students reconvened onstage after practicing in sectionals, Peterson kept them focused and their spirits high.

“What time is it?” Peterson said. The students cheered in unison: “Right here, right now.”

Peterson taught them choral choreography and how to connect with the audience. His emphasis on the importance of putting a crescendo into each line and how a baritone’s job is to find the missing note helped each student quickly learn the contribution of his part on the concert stage.

“The biggest challenge is to stay in harmony and to keep the right tempo,” said Irvine High School freshman Johnny Singh. “We want to start together, stay together and end together.”

The boys practiced their stage presence with three choral songs – the romantic “Hello Mary Lou,” the gospel-styled “Bound for Jubilee” and the sea shanty “Drunken Sailor.”

“Singing with over 200 other vocalists surrounding you helps create a confidence,” said Rancho Alamitos High School senior Chris Salgado. “You can make a mistake and learn how to fix it quickly by listening to those around you.”

Midway through the festival, students were split into groups again to practice for the tag contest.

“I was surprised to see them so excited already at the beginning of practice,” said group leader Andrew Wilcox, a third-year student at Cal State Fullerton. “I didn’t need to teach them to be passionate.”

The contest gave the students a chance to embrace their competitive side. Each group made up a name for itself, with members performing a piece of choreography or a new harmony to the best of their ability to impress the contest’s judge, Peterson. It was all in good fun, with each group receiving hearty applause.

“So many teachers send their students here because it is a challenge to get boys to sing,” said Tina Peterson, Irvine High School choral music director and Chris Peterson’s wife. “Teaching these students that to sing is a cool and a masculine thing to do is very important in recruiting more men to sing in choirs.”

Participating in the tag contest helped calmed the boys’ nerves about singing in front of a large audience, and they were ready to perform with the Titan Men’s Chorus for friends and family.

“The concert changes lives by providing a musical and sensory experience that wouldn't be possible at their home school,” Chris Peterson said. “It allows them to be part of something bigger than themselves in a fun, artistic, positive, and supportive environment.”

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